Air Canada suspends all flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai until March 23
Air Canada announced Monday that it has suspended all flights to and from Dubai and Tel Aviv, with a plan to restart on March 23.
In a press release shared on social media, the airline also told passengers not to head to the airport if they are in either of these regions. “Your safety is our top priority,” it said.
The airline said it will be contacting customers directly, and notes that changes to such flights can be made free of charge. It also notes that customers travelling to other cities in the area between now and March 15 can change their flights free of charge to another date between now and March 31, subject to availability in the cabin, and provided the ticket was purchased no later than Feb. 28.
(1/2) Due to the military situation in the Middle East, we have cancelled flights from Canada to Israel and Dubai until March 22, with service to resume March 23. We are monitoring the situation and will adjust our schedule accordingly.
— Air Canada (@AirCanada) March 2, 2026
The list of affected cities for those changes are Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Amman, Jordan; Beirut, Lebanon; Dammam, Saudi Arabia; and Erbil, Iraq, as well as Dubai and Tel Aviv.
“Outside of those dates, any fare difference will apply,” the airline said, adding: “If you choose to cancel your flight, you will receive a full refund. ” Anyone with a ticket purchased through Air Canada Vacations is advised to contact them directly at 1-800-296-3408.
The information comes as the government of Canada made a host of changes to its travel advice and advisory webpage in the last several days. Since Feb. 28, the government now advises avoiding all travel to Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. In addition, it advises avoiding non-essential travel to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
“We encourage all customers to monitor official government travel advisories regularly, as guidance may change at any time,” Air Canada said. “We will also continue to update this page as the situation evolves.”
News reports are that Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv will be closed until at least Friday. Emirates Airlines has said it will operate extremely limited service on March 3 but that it will contact customers directly to notify them of flights.
Neither Westjet nor Porter Airlines has flights from Canada to the Middle East, and are thus not directly affected by the situation.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.